Food insecurity and its implications on nutrition, health and education of Ethiopian adolescents

Adolescence is one of the four critical phases of human growth and development when negative effects of food insecurity and malnutrition are pronounced. However, most nutrition policies and programs and research agendas in many low and middle income countries give very little attention to the impact of food insecurity on health and wellbeing of adolescents. As a result, global evidence on adolescent nutrition and health is patchy. In Ethiopia, there is little evidence on the effect of food insecurity on nutritional status and wellbeing of adolescents.
Although the Ethiopian government has a National Nutrition Strategy and National Nutrition program guiding all nutrition related actions in the country, adolescents are not identified as a vulnerable group leading to a complete absence of interventions on adolescent nutrition. This study investigated the effect of food insecurity on adolescents’ nutrition, health, and education and identifies policy advocacy issues to support adolescent nutrition programming in Ethiopia. The results show that food insecurity is profoundly affecting dietary quality, health, growth and education of adolescents and that gender plays a critical role in this process. This calls for urgent attention of policy makers.

@phdthesis{3053660,
abstract = {Adolescence is one of the four critical phases of human growth and development when negative effects of food insecurity and malnutrition are pronounced. However, most nutrition policies and programs and research agendas in many low and middle income countries give very little attention to the impact of food insecurity on health and wellbeing of adolescents. As a result, global evidence on adolescent nutrition and health is patchy. In Ethiopia, there is little evidence on the effect of food insecurity on nutritional status and wellbeing of adolescents.
Although the Ethiopian government has a National Nutrition Strategy and National Nutrition program guiding all nutrition related actions in the country, adolescents are not identified as a vulnerable group leading to a complete absence of interventions on adolescent nutrition. This study investigated the effect of food insecurity on adolescents{\textquoteright} nutrition, health, and education and identifies policy advocacy issues to support adolescent nutrition programming in Ethiopia. The results show that food insecurity is profoundly affecting dietary quality, health, growth and education of adolescents and that gender plays a critical role in this process. This calls for urgent attention of policy makers.},
author = {Lema, Tefera Belachew},
isbn = {9789059895645},
keyword = {linear growth,menarche,educational attainment,school absenteeism,morbidity gender differences,dietary quality,coping strategies,buffering,Ethiopia,Food insecurity,adolescent},
language = {eng},
pages = {VIII, 220},
publisher = {Ghent University. Faculty of Bioscience Engineering},
school = {Ghent University},
title = {Food insecurity and its implications on nutrition, health and education of Ethiopian adolescents},
year = {2012},
}